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The Triangle will be the basketball capital of the world this weekend.
We used to say that regularly when Tobacco Road hosted the ACC and old Big Four tournaments in Greensboro. Duke, N.C. State and UNC were in the middle of winning national championships under revered coaches.
The dynamics of that have changed with the growth of the ACC from eight schools to 18 right now. The Big Four tournament ended in 1980 and the ACC tourney added Atlanta, Washington and Florida to Charlotte and Greensboro. Hall of Fame coaches Dean Smith, Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski retired while the legend of the late Jim Valvano burned brightly for Wolfpack fans.
This weekend, blueblood rivals Carolina and Duke are playing in the NCAA tournament, the top-ranked Blue Devils in an East Regional pod at the Lenovo Center, home of the Wolfpack that will be making another coaching change from Kevin Keatts to controversial Will Wade, whose McNeese State team plays Clemson (his alma mater) in the Midwest Regional beginning in Providence.
And the Tar Heels have been making headlines in a most unusual way after getting a debatable spot at the NCAA First Four in Dayton, advancing to the South Regional with a resounding win over San Diego State. The Aztecs gave up 96 points to UNC after allowing no more than 80 all season.
And, of course, not to be slighted are Carolina, Duke and State women’s teams, all seeded high enough in their NCAA tournament to host first- and second-round games in Carmichael Arena, Cameron Indoor Stadium and Reynolds Coliseum, trying to advance to their respective regionals.
In total, 10 NCAA women’s games will be played locally while the Duke men are heavy favorites to win the East Regional in Newark, an easy drive for large contingents of Blue Devils fans in that Eastern corner. Their big concern is whether superstar freshman Cooper Flagg will be 100 percent after missing the last two games of Duke’s 28th ACC tourney title.
The Tar Heel men are in Milwaukee to face Ole Miss, one of 14 entries from the SEC in the NCAA tournament. The No. 6 seed Rebels are coached by Chris Beard, who resurfaced after being fired at Texas under allegations that he had physically abused his fiancé at the time.
Wade’s entrance into the ACC will be the Wolfpack’s latest chance to catch their rivals in blue. He coached five years at LSU, where he was fired in 2022 for violating NCAA recruiting rules and wound up at McNeese State of the Southland Conference. He has now coached the Cowboys to their second straight NCAA tournament.
The three Triangle women’s teams have shots at reaching their Final Four in Tampa. Powerhouses South Carolina, Texas, Southern Cal and UCLA are the four No. 1 seeds.
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Featured image via UNC Athletic Communications/Anthony Sorbellini
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Chansky’s Notebook: Hoops Galore Chapelboro.com.
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